Avocado plantings in Colombia continue. There is an air of optimism amongst local entrepreneurs, who, encouraged by strong demand in the European market, the relatively low production costs and the future opening of the U.S. market, are investing heavily in the future of Colombian Hass.
"Exports are booming; we are still shipping weekly and we'll be finishing the season in the last week of March, reaching 170 containers," affirms Andrés Eduardo Mejía, executive director of CORPOHASS, the association of producers and exporters of avocados from Colombia.
This would be almost 14% more than the official prediction at the start of the campaign, which pointed to 150 containers and a 140% increase compared to the previous season, when only 72 containers were exported.
"Not only have we grown exponentially in volume, but prices have also improved; in fact, packers have registered higher prices in recent weeks," affirms Andrew, adding:" In the early season, some inexperienced Colombian companies made mistakes and quality was not ideal, which took a toll on prices, but from mid-December onwards the avocados have been of excellent quality, strengthening the position of Colombian fruit," points out Andrés.
Andrés highlights that prices have increased by between 8% and 9% compared with the previous season.
As mentioned above, the opening of the U.S. market is highly desired, since a free trade agreement would allow Colombia to become very competitive, taking a slice of the world's largest avocado market.
"Some 20 days ago we had a visit from the U.S. Ambassador and the Minister of Agriculture to the avocado packing plants, so we see a clear political will in this regard and everything is going well. We believe that within a period of about eighteen months, if all goes correctly, we will be able to enter the U.S. market," concludes Andrés.
More information:
Jean Pierre Coulet
CORPOHASS
T: +57 317 4318815
corpohass@gmail.com